Doncaster musical pilgrimage by Seth Lakeman in footsteps of Mayflower Pilgrim William Bradford

Seth Lakeman is performing songs from his Mayflower-inspired album, A Pilgrim’s Tale, which will be released on February 7 to mark 400 years since The Mayflower’s world-changing voyage.

His show at Cast in Doncaster takes place on February 5.

One of the most important Mayflower pilgrims, William Bradford, was born in Austerfield in 1590 and baptised in the parish church of St Helena.

His journals were used by Seth as part of his research into the story.

Another Pilgrim, William Brewster, came from Scrooby, near Retford.

The record is narrated by the actor Paul McGann of Dr Who and Withnail and I fame, and features guest performers including Cara Dillon, Benji Kirkpatrick, Ben Nicholls and Seth’s father, Geoff Lakeman.

To coincide with the album’s release, Seth is playing a series of live dates in towns and cities that hold significance to the Mayflower journey.

The ship carried British and Dutch passengers with hopes of fresh settlement, and who were famously met by the Wampanoag first nation tribe upon their arrival.

They were known for decades as the Pilgrim Fathers but are now called the Separatist Mayflower Pilgrims. Many travelled because they sought freedom to follow their non-conformist Christian beliefs without fear of oppression.

Chronicling the voyage and early settlement in his songs, Seth said he has has created a drama that celebrates the history, but doesn’t lose sight of the journey’s tribulations.

These include the religious liberation that passengers were trying to achieve, the terrible deeds enacted upon the Wampanoag and the deaths that followed on both sides.

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Seth said: “I didn’t have far to go for inspiration. The Mayflower Steps, on Plymouth’s cobbled Barbican streets, are 20 minutes away from me.

“I fished from this quay as a boy, sang songs on tall ships tied up here and played music in just about every old sailors’ pub in this Elizabethan quarter.”

Inspiration for the project came when Seth was on tour with Robert Plant and paid a visit to the Plymouth Plantation in Massachusetts to talk to the Wampanoag people who still live in the area.

Seth said: “After I travelled home from the ‘New World’ to Plymouth, Devon everything happened in a quite mystical way.

“The songs came together so speedily and with exactly the vibe I wanted, and we recorded in a very short time in my studio at home on Dartmoor.”

Seth Lakeman’s tour is one of a series of Mayflower 400 events taking place to mark the anniversary.

Bassetlaw Museum in Retford has opened an interactive Pilgrims Gallery that looks at the life of William Brewster.

Austerfield and Scrooby form part of a Pilgrim Trail that people can follow and there will also be events at Doncaster’s Heritage Festival in May.

For more information, go to the Mayflower 400 website at www.mayflower400uk.org. Seth Lakeman’s website is at www.sethlakeman.co.uk